龟苓膏 (guīlínggāo) · guilinggao, turtle jelly

Measure Word

一碗龟苓膏 wǎn

Meanings

1 guilinggao
2 turtle jelly
3 tortoise-shell and Poria herbal jelly

Made with

About the dish

桂菜 Guangxi · 甜品 Dessert

A dark, almost black herbal jelly with a bitter taste, served chilled with honey or condensed milk poured over to sweeten it. 龟 means turtle, but many versions today contain no turtle shell.

Characters

Poria (a medicinal fungus/root)

膏

gāo

paste, jelly

Examples

HSK 5

广东人夏天喜欢吃龟苓膏去火。

Guǎngdōng rén xiàtiān xǐhuan chī guīlínggāo qùhuǒ.

Cantonese people like to eat guilinggao in summer to dispel internal heat.

HSK 7-9

这碗龟苓膏加了炼乳，没那么苦。

Zhè wǎn guīlínggāo jiā le liàn rǔ, méi nàme kǔ.

This bowl of guilinggao has condensed milk added, so it's not as bitter.

Tips

culture

A Cantonese/Guangxi herbal jelly traditionally made from powdered tortoise plastron (龟板) and 土茯苓 (Smilax glabra root), considered cooling in TCM (清热解毒). Most modern commercial versions contain no actual turtle shell and are sweetened with honey or condensed milk.